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Bad Boys TV Show Spinoff Casts Ernie Hudson

Therecently announced, but still officially untitled NBC pilot order of Bad Boyscontinues to develop this week with news of its first official casting in original Ghostbusters star Ernie Hudson.

Hudson appeared recently on an episode of another big action franchise television reboot Lethal Weapon, and has had a steady career on a variety of television series including Graves, APB, Modern Family, and an upcoming appearance on CBS's Blue Bloods. He currently co-stars on the hit Netflix comedy series Grace & Frankie asthe love interest of Lily Tomlin's Frankie. In addition, Hudson has continued a successful career in voiceover work for a variety of pop culture favorites, and in 2016 returned for an all-too-brief cameo in the finale of the big-screen Ghostbusters remake.

Deadline is reporting Hudson has joined the project to play Joseph Burnett, father of Gabrielle Union's Sydney 'Syd' Burnett. Although Hudson's Joseph Burnett in this Bad Boys series pilot is new to the franchise, fans will remember Union's character from Bad Boys II. In the even more celebrated sequel to the 1995 blockbuster, Union's Syd was an undercover DEA operative. Syd also happened to be the sister of Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) and a romantic interest to Detective Mike Lowrey (Will Smith).

The planned series, which NBC won a bidding war against several networks, is a spinoff from the events of Bad Boys II. Having successfully dismantled a major Miami drug cartel in the sequel, Syd relocates to Los Angeles and becomes an LAPD detective. Leaving behind her past (and possibly Lowrey), she takes up a new life on the West coast. She's partnered with Nancy McKenna, described as "a working mom who can’t help but look at Syd’s freedom with some grass-is-greener envy." The classic pairing of opposite personalities forms the familiar dynamic of the franchise's appeal. The pilot, written by The Blacklist writers-producers Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier, promises an "action-packed, character-driven procedural."

Also carried over from the successful Bad Boys films is executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who has previously also been announced as producing the now stalled third and fourth big-screen sequels in the franchise. Bruckheimer also previously produced a television spinoff of the action-drama Training Day, and had less success getting a Beverly Hills Cop TV series on-air, though a pilot was shot.

Though future movies are on hold, the female-lead Bad Boys television series continues to look promising. Union's return secures credibility to the project, while the focus on her character Syd is an interesting new direction to take the franchise. Additional news on casting (or other returning characters) has yet to be announced, but we'll provide updates as they come in.